Yearly Archives: 2014

One of the things I love most about Facebook is the great ideas I get there. I love Pinterest for the same reason, but this idea came from a Facebook friend. A family child care provider friend posted a photo of the “Sickness Season Survival Kits” she’d made for her…

College Boy and Irish Girl are great at thinking of creative birthday presents that the recipient will really love, and this year they hit it out of the ballpark with Teacher’s birthday present. At first we were a little puzzled when Teacher reached into the bag and pulled out…

Spend any amount of time on Facebook and you’re likely to come across someone complaining about kids who want more and more but give less and less. And it’s not limited to kids; many adults grow with a case of the “gimmies” – always looking to get something for nothing,…

My family has a tradition who brings what for Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle Ike and Aunt Elle’s. We always bring, in Uncle Ike’s words, “The weird stuff that only your family eats.” Like Aunt Betty’s Stuffing, squash, Drunken Cranberries, and Drunken Sweet Potatoes. We also bring pumpkin and cherry pie,…

When I was a kid my grandma and grandpa had a huge Cortland apple tree in their back yard. To me nothing tasted better than those apples, except maybe Grandma’s Great Apple Dessert. Like Big Meat Bake Dish, this recipe probably has an official name, but we’ve always called it…

You know those family recipes that you aren’t sure where they came from or what their real name is? This is one of those kinds of recipes. I grew up on Big Meat Bake Dish. It was such a staple in my family when I was growing up that I…

Halloween can be an expensive holiday, and costumes usually top the list of expenses. Over the years we’ve found ways to keep costume expenses to a minimum – when you’ve got six kids finding ways to cut costs is a matter of survival! Here are some tips to help you…

You know how sometimes you’re really, really looking forward to something, then when the time comes you’re not looking forward to it anymore? That’s what it was like for the July 2014 Solea Tequila Dinner. I’d been looking forward to it for weeks, but when the day arrived I was…

Children use crayons, markers, and other writing tools in different ways as they progress through the stages of artistic development from scribbling to detailed drawings. Along the way children experiment with colors, shapes, space, and ideas. Working with crayons, markers and other drawing tools enhances creativity and self-expression while the…

I’m a bad, bad, bad, bad grandma. I have a third grandchild besides Peanut and Love Bug that I’ve never told you about: Love Bug’s little brother, Caesar Boy. Not posting about Caesar Boy wasn’t a deliberate oversight – it just kind of happened. How does something like that…